Ellie and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

So, there isn't even a very exciting story to tell, but this is how it happened. We were walking in to church, early since James had an appointment to get a new calling. Ellie was holding my hand and walking when she tripped and fell down on the carpet. No big deal, because since she is still mastering the walking thing she trips a lot. Except this time it was a big deal because she starting crying hard, like she was hurt.
All day Sunday she wasn't using her right leg. She was acting a bit better Monday, but I called the doctor just to check things out. After the doctor check up (which Brielle hated) we were sent to get xrays (which she also screamed through) and discovered that Ellie had a buckle fracture. We went to get the cast put on, they didn't have any exciting colors small enough for her leg, so she just got plain old white. And that, is the story of Brielle's first sports injury.

I told Ellie she was getting a sock put on. She loves socks, so she was okay with that. So far it hasn't bothered her much yet. We go get it checked again in 2 weeks, and she should get it off in 4-6 weeks.

Happy Faces

My friend had some great pictures from our Lake Michigan day trip last month. In Holland, MI there is a small Bison farm. Ellie was enamored with the animals and was just giggling as she watched them in the field.




And Ellie and I both enjoyed running and sliding down a small sand dune later that same day at the beach.

Dairy Days

Today was the Dairy Expo at MSU. I was impressed at how well planned it was with a lot of hands-on activities for the kids. Ellie was very excited about seeing so many cows and wanted to climb right on top of them. She helped me milk a cow; we also watched a cow digest its food (it had an opening so you could see its stomach) that was stinky.

Ellie learned that ice-cream comes from cows. She decided it was pretty good.

Walking Update

Ellie is still working on her walking skills and getting better every day. And of course she still is obsessed with the stairs and eating things she isn't supposed to...so she seems to be a normal, healthy 1-year-old.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

James and my Dad have at least one thing in common...they both hate tuna casserole. It was the standing joke (or perhaps the actual reality) in my home growing up that when my Mom cooked Tuna Noodle Casserole for dinner it meant that she wanted my Dad to take her out to a restaurant and the rest of us kids ate the casserole.
Here is the truth. I actually really like the stuff. It is also cheap, fast and easy to make. With James being gone the past 6 weeks I've converted Ellie to it as well.
I don't even know if James has ever tasted it. I'm trying to convince him to have some when he gets home, but I think if I try he'll just take me out to eat instead. So, maybe its not such a bad idea to cook it once in a while.


Tuna Noodle Casserole
1 8oz. package egg noodles
1 6oz. can tuna-drained
6 T margarine
6 T flour
1/2 t salt
3 C milk
3 C grated cheddar cheese
Garlic Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil noodles until tender. Drain tuna and set aside. Melt margarine-stir in flour, salt and pepper. Stir in milk and cook until thickened. Layer noodles, flaked tuna, 1/2 of cheese, 1/2 of white sauce. Repeat layers. Cover tightly and bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until bubbly. You may srpink paprika or bread crumbs if desired.

My Kitchen Window View

Maybe this is weird, but on laundry day I actually like doing dishes because I get to look out and see this:

I purposefully try to put some of the more colorful clothes in my view. There is just something about watching clothes drying that is exciting to me.

Also, I like to think about the money I'm saving by not running my dryer. If only my back yard wasn't so shady...then it wouldn't take so long for the clothes to dry.

D.C. continued

This trip added to Ellie's state count. With Maryland and Virginia now on her list she is up to 14 states. We don't have plans for anymore in the near future, so we'll have to work on that.

We did a lot of waking to see the memorials and museums along the Mall in D.C. Brielle was a trooper, but as you can tell she did not love hanging out in her stroller. She was much happier when I let her out to practice her new walking skills.

The Botanical Gardens were amazing. I liked the hands-on exhibits where you could smell the spices and learn about the many uses of plants.


We took a trip to the National Zoo. It was hot and crowded, but we still had fun and saw quite a few of the animals. Ellie learned to sign Elephant and Monkey.

Ellie was also quite fascinated with the Komodo Dragon.


The Washington D.C. temple. It is beautiful!!


The National Aquarium in Baltimore was amazing. As you can tell from the pictures Ellie loved seeing all the fish, birds and other animals.

Roots Goes to Washington

Ian and James drove down to Washington DC together a few weeks ago for James to start his 6 weeks at NIH. Along the way they stopped at Fallingwater. The location was stunning and the house unique. We enjoyed driving in the Pennsylvania back country.



Megan and Brielle flew in to Baltimore this week to come and visit. James as really been missing them. Everyone traveled down to Charlottesville over the 4th of July weekend. We went and toured UVA which was designed and founded by Thomas Jefferson. It was a really neat campus. The "Lawn" where this picture is taken was surrounded by 1 room dorms that the 4th year honor students are invited to stay in. They have their own fireplace, but everyone shares a bathroom!



Here is Roots and Megan at Michie's Tavern by Monticello. Bea and Ben (more about them later) took us there for a yummy lunch. Roots in traditional Captain Morgan pose.



Here we are at the plantation home of Jefferson. It was fun to get a tour of the home, but Roots cut it a little short.



We took a Sunday drive along Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park. It was a little foggy, but the views were excellent. Thanks to Ian for doing all the driving.



Here are Bea and Ben with the girls in front of their beautiful home. We were lucky enough to get to stay with them for the long weekend. We had tons of fun cooking, talking and playing pool with them and their adorable dogs.



Megan and Brielle visited Great Falls National Park (Potomac River). Brielle was signing water the whole time and was trying to crawl in to take a dip. There was no swimming allowed for obvious reasons.



Here are Megan and Brielle at the Natural History museum. They have an exhibit on the co-evolution of butterflies and flowers, very interesting. We got free tickets to the butterfly house and took a peek. Look at the huge Atlas moth over Megan's right shoulder.

Who Cares about Diapers?

I have had a few people either question my sanity or act mildly interested in the fact that I choose to use cloth diapers. Well, I've been doing it for over a year and I thought I'd throw my experience, advice and opinions out there.

James was the one that brought up the idea of cloth diapering. I didn't know what to think and expect and wavered back and forth 'till the last month of pregnancy. I didn't want to put out the money for diapers and then not be able to handle it.

I purchased online through Jillian's Drawers which I am very happy with. They ship fast and price match any other price you find online as well.

I've spent a total of $354 dollars. (It could have been less, but I tried out a few different kinds of diapers in the beginning to see what I liked best.) I decided I like the basic Unbleached Indian prefold diaper with a Bummis Whisper Wrap cover. What I have should last until Ellie is potty trained plus I can reuse them for additional children.

The laundry doesn't bother me at all. I do laundry anyway, and it is easy to throw a load of diapers in the wash every 3rd day. You can get a mini shower system to rinse off the poopy diapers, I haven't yet, but I'm not grossed out by swishing the diapers in the toilet...so I guess you can call me crazy if you want.

There are cons. The diapers I choose to use are bulky, so they take up a lot more room in a diaper bag and also on the baby, she doesn't seem to care though. It also takes a little bit more planning while traveling to make sure we will have a place to wash diapers.

I actually do like using them though. It makes me feel good to save money and maybe be in some way helping the environment. I plan to use them on any future kids we may have and would definitely recommend it to anyone else if you are at all interested.

Summer Beach Days

With James gone we are keeping ourselves busy with some fun spontaneous activities enjoying the summer sun and time with friends.


Saturday we went to Lake Lansing, it isn't technically in Lansing, but it is close enough. Ellie was ready to go all the way out in the water like she did in Hawaii. She also thought it was funny to try to drink the water. I think she just likes to get a reaction out of me.


Yesterday we went out to Lake Michigan. We went through Holland first. Ellie is obsessed with shoes, so she was pretty excited about trying on all the wooden shoes they have there.


Building (or destroying) a sandcastle. We went to Oval Beach in Saugatuck. It was beautiful. It wasn't too hot outside so we didn't spend a lot of time in the water, but had a great time playing and rolling in the sand.


And her favorite part of the beach...the stairs of course.